Reps. Sak, Accavitti, Adamini, Anderson, Bieda, Brandenburg, Brown, Casperson, Caswell, Caul, Clack, Daniels, DeRoche, DeRossett, Elkins, Emmons, Farhat, Farrah, Garfield, Gieleghem, Gillard, Gleason, Hager, Jamnick, Kolb, Kooiman, Lipsey, McConico, Meisner, Middaugh, Milosch, Minore, Phillips, Plakas, Richardville, Rivet, Rocca, Shaffer, Shulman, Spade, Stahl, Stallworth, Tabor, Taub, Tobocman, Vander Veen, Woronchak, Byrum, Dennis, Pappageorge and Voorhees offered the following resolution:

            House Resolution No. 231.

A resolution recognizing April 2004 as Child Abuse Prevention Month in the state of Michigan.

Whereas, Child abuse and neglect is a serious and growing problem affecting millions of our nation’s children; and

            Whereas, Child maltreatment is associated with problems throughout adolescence and into adulthood, including increased risk of teen pregnancy, drug use, lower educational attainment, and the perpetuation of abusive behavior; and

            Whereas, In Michigan, approximately 167,300 children lived in a family where an investigation of child abuse and neglect occurred in the fiscal year 2002, which is 65 out of every 1,000 children in the state of Michigan; and

            Whereas, Physical neglect is by far the largest category to affect children, affecting almost two out of every five victims, followed by physical abuse involving one out of every five child victims; and

            Whereas, The next largest categories, which are improper supervision and failure to protect, encompassed over a quarter of all child victims when combined.  The Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) describes injuries that occur to young infants who sustain injuries to their brains and other systems after being violently shaken; and

            Whereas, Over 1,000 infants are affected nationally each year. There have been 50 to 100 shaken babies cases annually in the state of Michigan.  Over the past five years, five to ten infants per year have been hospitalized with concerns of Shaken Baby Syndrome or abusive head trauma with brain injury; and

            Whereas, Child sexual abuse is a crime of epidemic proportion that touches and changes countless children’s lives each year throughout the United States and Michigan; and

            Whereas, It is estimated that one in three children will experience sexual abuse/assault before their 18th birthday.  An estimated 89,000 cases of child sexual abuse were substantiated in the year of 2000 and most experts believe this grossly under represents the actual number of victims; and

            Whereas, Such abuse has devastating and long-term results.  Victims of sexual abuse often experience traumatic reactions including anxiety, fear, difficulty sleeping, nightmares, school-related problems, and psychosomatic symptoms such as headaches and stomachaches.  Victims of sexual abuse are also at a higher risk of using tobacco and alcohol, teen pregnancy, obesity, and developing high blood pressure and diabetes; and

            Whereas, Community collaboration is necessary in order to provide services to families at risk of child abuse and neglect and to ensure a safe and secure future for the children of our community; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body recognize April 2004 as Child Abuse Prevention Month in the state of Michigan; and be it further

            Resolved, That we urge the people of Michigan to support the ongoing fight in helping families break free from the cycle of child abuse and neglect.